Trust
A/N: This takes place after 'Masks'.
Trust. It was such a simple word yet it carried a great burden with it. Even now in the privacy of his own room Robin tried so hard to tell himself that he hadn't betrayed his friends but merely…mislead them. Which in the end still turned out to be betrayal he decided. He had to admit; it had hurt to see the looks of utter horror, shock, and anger directed at him. Starfire's words had cut deep, leaving a wound that would never be fully healed no matter how hard he tried.
Sitting on his bed he remembered how hard it had been to gain their trust in the beginning; to convince them to follow him and help protect the city. Starfire had, no surprise there, been the easiest to convince. Having just arrived on Earth she was innocent, naïve, waiting for someone to protect her. She needed to have someone looking out for at all times even if she was just asking stupid questions like what a prom was.
Cyborg hadn't been quite as easy but it hadn't taken much to get him to join either. Half-human, half-robot he hadn't fit in. He had looking for a purpose, a reason to live. The Titans and Robin had given him that purpose. Now he spent his days fighting crime and saving the city instead of gathering dust in some laboratory.
Even Raven hadn't been that hard to convince to join. She might be half-demon and didn't trust anybody but she still cared about innocent people. When Robin had first met her it had been because she was trying to take down some metal monster that wanted to destroy everything in sight. It had taken him about a week or so but she eventually gave in and joined him and the other two.
But who would've thought that Beast Boy would be the most difficult? Initially they had met him after coming across a gang that was trying to kill a peculiar looking green dog. They had saved the dog only for it to run. After chasing it across town Robin finally found it hidden behind a dumpster. He had managed to coax it to come out but to his surprise, instead of a dog, there stood a green boy with pointed ears and a fang. Judging by the bruises, several of them recent and the rest almost completely healed, it hadn't taken much to deduce that the boy had been hurt and badly at that. Despite the fact that Beast Boy had stayed with them the way he flinched when they tried to touch him or when one of them raised their voices he clearly didn't trust them. In fact Robin wasn't so sure that he trusted them now. He wouldn't be surprised though if he didn't; as Beast Boy himself had said once they were the closest thing he'd ever had to a family which made Robin his surrogate big brother. And what had his big brother done? Lied to all of them and deliberately led them into a dangerous situation with no warning beforehand. The hurt in all of their eyes had cut deep but for some reason the look in Beast Boy's green eyes had hurt Robin worse than all of the others put together. It hurt because when he had found Beast Boy he had promised the green boy that he wouldn't hurt him; would never betray Beast Boy. He had lied; he had broken his promise. And that knowledge hurt him worse than Slade ever could.
A/N/N: This is my first Teen Titans story but hopefully not my last! Please let me know what you think and if you want a story about the Titans finding Beast Boy.
Thanks again for reading!